A decree law approved on 25 June 2008 implemented some of the new rules on work, introduced by the newly elected Minister of Labour, Health and Social Policy, Maurizio Sacconi. These new measures are included in the spending plan approved by the Council of Ministers on 18 June. Some provisions introduced by the new minister annul measures approved by the last government, for instance the law on voluntary resignations.
The newly elected centre-right Minister of Labour, Health and Social Policy, Maurizio Sacconi, has chosen the route of the decree law to gain approval for the first measures on work introduced by the new coalition government led by Silvio Berlusconi. The provisions intended to ‘simplify’ the Italian labour market were, in fact, included in the government’s summer budgetary measures and approved as a matter of urgency. Some of these rules are indicative of the new government’s intention to break with the previous government’s policies. Indeed, in the cases of fixed-term employment, on-call work and the law on voluntary resignations, the new government alters measures adopted by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy in the previous centre-left government, Cesare Damiano.
Provisions on work in spending plan
The main changes introduced by the new government’s decree law are as follows:
- the renewed possibility for companies to use on-call work – this option had been abolished by the last government, following the agreement reached on 23 July 2007 between the government and social partners known as the ‘Welfare Protocol’ (IT0710029I, IT0712029I);
- changes to the regulations on fixed-term employment – in particular, the government’s decree makes it possible to exceed the time limit of 36 months for stabilising employment relationships introduced by the Welfare Protocol. The decree assigns to collective bargaining the task of determining the terms of renewal of fixed-term employment contracts beyond the 36-month time limit;
- the possibility for pensions to be fully cumulative with income from self-employment or dependent employment – this option had been forbidden up to now and has long been requested by the trade union organisations;
- abolishment of the online procedure for the registration of voluntary resignations by workers – this innovation was introduced by the previous government, and it established that voluntary resignations were to be recorded by completing a special form downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Ministero del Lavoro e delle Previdenza Sociale). The form is assigned an alphanumerical code, which ensures that it is unique, thus making illegal duplication impossible. The purpose was to combat the practice of ‘white resignations’, or unlawful dismissals disguised as voluntary resignations (IT0806019I);
- other additional provisions – including fiscal benefits for employees working overtime; changes to the sanctions envisaged by the consolidated text of the law on workplace safety (IT0801039I); and simplifications in the registration of newly hired workers.
Reactions of social partners
The trade unions have strongly criticised the measures introduced by Minister Sacconi, particularly with regard to those changing the agreement on on-call work, reached in July 2007 after considerable effort by the centre-left government and social partners. In an interview given on 7 July 2008 to the Unità newspaper, the General Secretary of the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil), Guglielmo Epifani, rejected the provisions contained in the government’s decree, referring to them as ‘interventions which undermine the autonomy of the social partners, reducing rights and protections’.
Conversely, a ‘substantially positive’ judgement on the spending plan as a whole was given by the recently elected President of the Confederation of Italian Industry (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana, Confindustria), Emma Marcegaglia (IT0804029I). Confindustria has endorsed the first measures adopted by the new government.
Commentary
Besides the differences of opinion between the trade unions and employer organisations on the measures adopted by the new government, it is important to highlight the decision by the new Minister of Labour, Health and Social Policy to intervene unilaterally on significant aspects of the agreement on on-call work reached in July 2007 between the government and social partners. This latest move appears to jeopardise future prospects for social dialogue. Moreover, it is difficult to interpret the decision to abolish the procedure for the online registration of voluntary resignations, which had been recently introduced and represented a guarantee for workers without imposing a burden on employers.
Cristina Tajani, Fondazione Seveso